


Proof

by Forthosewholoveme



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Family, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-23
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2017-12-15 22:30:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/854720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forthosewholoveme/pseuds/Forthosewholoveme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The real proof, however, that Tony Stark had a heart was his daughter."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Not many people believed that Tony Stark had a heart.

Pepper was one of the first people in a long time to realise he had a good side. It wasn't enough to keep them together - though they were still on friendly terms - but at least she knew it was there. Since the battle in New York the Avengers had been living rent free in his tower. They didn't have to pay for food, clothes, anything. He made sure there was plenty for all of them to do at any given time and if they wanted to travel anywhere he loaned them a car or jet or motorbike as and when they needed it. He did all that for them and only one of his 'friends' really understood that he did all that out of thoughtfulness, out of kindness rather than just enjoyment of throwing his money around.

Bruce was the next person to understand that he had a heart hiding under that metal armour, shiny blue light and snarky comebacks. Bruce saw it when Tony spent hours making sure everyone was okay that nobody needed anything especially Bruce himself, for whom Tony had not only provided all the material goods he could ever need - including his own lab - but also showed Bruce that he was worth something, that he did deserve the friends and the family that the avengers provided him with.

The real proof, however, that Tony Stark had a heart was his daughter. Not many people - Pepper was the only real exception - knew he had a daughter. Her name was Harriet Stark, she was twenty-two years old and she was everything to Tony. He wanted her to grow up without being in the spotlight so when she turned four Tony sent her away to school in Scotland. "It's going to be a game," he'd told her, "a big game of pretend. You have to pretend your name is Harriet Connelly. Do you think you can do that?" She had agreed and from then on they'd had to spend most of their time apart. They got to spend the holidays together though, and they treasured that time together.

When Afghanistan had happened she'd flown to the states to help Pepper - or probably more accurately to sit and worry with Pepper and holding each other when they cried. When he got home she was the best thing for him, she knew when he needed company and when he needed space. She genuinely understood what was happening with the arc reactor and was smart enough to be able to help him to some extent. When he had nightmares she didn't let him sleep alone.

Then she'd had an incident of her own. After the battle of New York, she graduated with a Masters degree in mechanical engineering and an honours degree in physics but Tony wasn't there. If he'd actually gone to his daughters graduation he could have prevented it from happening. Someone had a grudge about the fact that she'd graduated top of the class and grabbed her at the after party. They'd violated her, beaten her, cut her and stabbed her, dumping her in a field where they'd poured gasoline on her, lit her on fire and ran away. She was meant to contact him that night and when she didn't and her friends didn't know where she was he informed the authorities. It had only been 12 hours so he wasn't overly worried until he got the call, then he wanted blood.

But she was physically well now. She had been stabilised in Scotland and then transported back to the US to recuperate in New York. When she arrived it became clear that she needed to go back into hospital and had two operations before she came to Stark Tower to recover. Harriet's room was on the same floor as the rest of the Avengers but she'd requested that nobody be aware of her presence until she was feeling better. When she needed something she notified JARVIS so that Tony or occasionally Pepper could take it to her.

She was recovering from the psychological effects. She was still jumpy around other people, Tony was the only person she was comfortable touching her, even Pepper wasn't allowed too close. She was back to her usual snarky, sarcastic glory though - when she first got back she was so docile and shy Tony was terrified for her. But she was recovering, beginning to understand that this wasn't her fault, that this was something done to her not because of her. If she didn't need him so much right now Tony would be out killing the bastards that did this. They were already in jail but that was too good for them, he wanted their blood.

Harry knew the Avengers were out on a mission. Her dad - the only person in the world who still called her Harriet - had told her they were leaving and had said that he'd come in as soon as they were back. He was treating her like she was made of glass at the moment and she appreciated that more than she would admit too.

She walked over to the mirror, she couldn't really get over the change in her appearance that the last couple of months had wrought. Her hair had been mostly burned away so as before it was down to her waist it was now cropped to chin length. Her face, now that the bruising had pretty much faded, was the same as it always was. She'd been lying on her front when they'd burned her so most of the burn scars were on the back of her legs and back up to her neck - she would have to get used to wearing blouses with collars or people would think she had a bad tattoo. Her front, though saved mostly from the burns, was a motley of semi-healed cuts and semi-faded bruises. She'd had several broken ribs so still had light wrappings round her chest and further bandages on her abdomen were due to being stabbed - she'd had to get a hysterectomy because of that wound and below the bandages she knew their were six ugly staples holding her together.

"I'm becoming awfully self obsessed," she mused to JARVIS as she pulled a dressing gown over her vest-top and shorts that covered her from neck to toe, "I'm sure I never admired myself in the mirror this much before."

"Probably understandable Ma'am," JARVIS replied in his british accent, "weren't you saying just yesterday that it's a whole new you?"

"Ha-ha JARVIS, you're hilarious." The day before she'd decided to stop wallowing, she had managed to get her hair cut properly, get in touch with friends that were worried about her, ordered new clothes and shoes and then given up and lain on her bed for the rest of the day just thinking. Being productive had helped a bit, she'd only had one panic attack all day. "Well at least I tried, bastard. Now is everyone still out?"

"Yes Miss Stark."

"Awesome, will you put on the coffee machine in the kitchen please?"

"Of course, Miss Stark."

"Thank you J!" That sorted, Harry meandered towards the elevator. Even though it was just one floor, the stairs were still a bit beyond her. When the door of the elevator opened onto the open - plan common area she was dismayed to find someone else was in the tower. "JARVIS," she mock scolded, "you didn't tell me we had company."

"My protocols were overridden ma'am," JARVIS said, apologetically.

Interesting. "Well, not just anyone can do that." she said looking at the figure standing in the middle of the common area curiously as he turned towards her. Ah, that made more sense. "Director, how can I help you?"

The tall, imposing man looked at her with a neutral expression on his face. "I don't know who you are, and I don't much care but I was informed there was a civilian living in the tower and I'm here to take the necessary steps."

Well, from the amount her father went on about the team it didn't take a genius to work out which of the characters he'd described had ratted her out. She would be having words with a certain archer with a penchant for ventilation systems about the respect due to her father for letting him into their home. "And those steps are?" she enquired brusquely.

"You're a liability." he stated then went on when Harry tried to interrupt. "There are documents you need to sign for your silence on pain of death, and consent on certain matters."

"Uh huh," she replied, unimpressed by the mans attitude. She suddenly understood why her father seemed to be constantly fighting with this person. "Permission for what exactly?"

"Access to you're files including the altering of information as and when it is necessary. Access to any autopsy report to alter your cause of death if related to those living in this tower or our agency. Permission for agents to tail you."

Harry laughed a little, walking into the kitchen area and pouring her newly made coffee courtesy of JARVIS. She turned back to director Fury to see a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, it's just... well, I really don't see why I'd sign any of that."

The man before her laughed. It was not a happy sound. Behind him through the floor to ceiling windows she could see the quinjet coming into land on the roof, maybe the director was out of time. "I can give you some incentive to sign them," when she gave an imperious 'do go on' gesture he continued, "If you don't i'll have you sent away where Tony Stark can't find you, where no one will care what you have to say or, i'll simply have you disposed of."

Harry raised an eyebrow, somewhere Tony Stark couldn't find her? She was well aware her father would tear apart the world to get her back. "Ah, there seems to be a problem here. I'm not happy with any of the options put in front of me. What do you think Mr. Stark - who provides your organisation with maybe 80% of your funding - would do if he found out you were threatening me?"

Fury pulled back the side of his leather trench coat - seriously? Why did the man feel a leather trench coat was necessary? Who wore a leather trench coat? Maybe he thought he was in the matrix - and put his hand on the weapon holstered at his hip. "I don't know what you are to Stark. I don't care if you're his in house yoga instructor or his fuck buddy. I just know you're a threat to the security of his team and i don't think he'd put you above them, no matter what he told you."

She winced a little at the implications of that little speech which made Fury suspect that he was getting somewhere. "I think, for the head of an intelligence organisation, you're being a little dense." Still sipping her coffee she gave the man a bland smile.

In response he pulled out his gun, not pointing it at her, just holding it in his hand. "Are you going to sign these papers or are we going to have a problem?"

It was the perfect moment for Tony Stark himself to come out of the elevator, red with rage - presumably JARVIS had told him what was happening - and made his way to his daughters side. Standing in front of her, he took her hand and asked, "Are you okay, darling?"

She nodded slowly. All she'd felt in front of Fury was reckless bravado - she certainly knew who she got that personality trait from - but now that she was safe she was shaking slightly and her legs felt weak. Her father being the genius that he was, saw all those signs and if possible became even more infuriated. He turned to Fury and demanded "What the hell?"

Harry looked around briefly at the other Avengers that had followed her Dad out of the elevator, trying to work out who would be on which side of this stand off. She recognised them easily from the stories Tony had told her as well as from the news coverage of the battle of New York. Natasha Romanov was obvious as the only woman. She looked almost perfect, the only thing giving away the fight they'd just been part of was the darkening bruise across her cheek bone. Her face was neutral and she was watching the conflict with guarded eyes. She worked for SHIELD first and foremost so it seemed to be pointless to count her as an ally.

The archer, Agent Barton looked much worse, with grime on his face and uniform and a gash on his arm. He was her squealer so she had to assume he was against her presence anyway. She realised too late that everyone had a forced neutral expression, it would really be pointless to try and work out who was for her or against her.

Captain America looked like he wanted to berate Tony for allowing a security risk himself.

Bruce Banner looked like he'd hulked. In fact it was obvious that he'd hulked as his shirt was in tatters, he was clutching the ruined waistband of is trousers and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

Tony was ranting in the background as she calculated the best way to get them out of this situation, "This is my tower, how dare you tell me who can and cannot stay here? How dare you threaten my guests?" He continued with the threats and insults as Harry sighed and walked over to the others, shrugging off her dressing gown as she went. The assassins eyes snapped towards her as she approached and she rolled her eyes as their hands went to their guns. Dr. Banner tensed as she approached him and gave a tentative smile when all she did was hand him her dressing gown.

She walked back towards her father and Fury, clearly she would have to be the adult here in the mens pissing contest. "Well Mr. Stark" She said as she put her hand on his arm and he immediately calmed down. "Do you think it would help matters if you told the Director and your team your deepest darkest secret?"

Tony smiled down at her, glad she seemed alright, better even. There was a spark in her eyes he hadn't seen for a while. He glanced around at Fury who was still spitting mad; Natasha and Hawkass looking almost curious; Bruce looking ridiculous in a bright pink dressing gown; Thor looking longingly at the kitchen and Steve looking a mixture between angry and curious. "Well kiddies," He began, "let me tell you a story abou-"

"The short version please." Harry interrupted, very conscious about the number of weapons currently in the room.

Tony smirked. "Fine. Everyone I'd like you to meet my daughter, Harriet Stark on whom I assure you, you've made an awful impression upon. Harriet," he gestured around the room. "meet the assholes who are determined to set back your recovery time."


	2. Chapter 2

'What?!' was Clint's only thought for a moment after Tony's proud announcement. There was no record of Tony having a daughter, nothing in Tony's file to suggest that was the case. 'Could he be lying?' But no, he could see the likeness as they stood next to each other, wearing identical smirks as they took in the reactions of the people around them. They both had the same hair colour and face shape and, lets face it, only Tony Stark's daughter could sass Fury like she had done. That unfortunately meant that he had gone behind his teammates back and told SHIELD about one of his family members. A family member who looked like she'd been through the wars quite recently, going by the injuries that could be seen now that she wasn't wearing a giant dressing gown.

He'd been in the vents on the floor with all the rooms when he'd heard talking from a room that wasn't supposed to be occupied. After investigating, he'd discovered a woman curled up in a blanket watching a film. A few reasons had popped into his head about why Tony would have a woman in his tower that he hadn't told his team mates about and none of them were favourable to Tony or his daughter. He swallowed thickly at that thought. Assuming the billionaire was being selfish, he'd followed his training and informed Agent Coulson who was the teams liaison and apparently he had informed Fury.

Blinking to clear his head a little he listened to what the double act in front of him were saying. "So what exactly were you planning to do with my daughter, Fury?" Tony asked, the picture of innocence.

His daughter replied in the same tone, "Well I believe he said my first option was to be sent away somewhere you would never find me, but you and I both know that's not possible dad, which means his second option was probably the one he was going to go for." Her lips curled in a cruel smile, which looked out of place on such an innocent face. "What was the phrase you used director? Oh, that's right. You said you were going to dispose of me."

Tony growled a little, not having been privy to that part in the conversation. Steve clearly decided that there had been enough fighting and put on his leader persona, stepping forward and saying, "Now, now. The director jumped to the wrong conclusion but that little misunderstanding's been cleared up now. No harm, no foul."

It was the girl's turn to snarl at that and Clint, having spent more time with the director than Steve, couldn't really blame her. "It's easy enough for you to say that, Captain," she turned his title into a sneer. "But i'm quite interested to know what would have happened to me if you're timing hadn't been so good? What would have happened to this little team if Iron Man had come home to find his daughter dead in his kitchen, or missing again. What would have happened to SHIELD if Tony Stark and perhaps even more importantly CEO of Stark Industries, Miss Pepper Potts had found out who was responsible. I don't imagine any of those answers are attractive."

Steve had the good grace to cringe a little at that while Tony reached out to his daughter who looked to be on the verge of tears. "Darling, it's alright," he crooned softly, hugging her, "none of that happened, you're fine, we're all fine."

"Yeah, sure," the girl said, a bitter tone still in her voice. "I'm going to go cry into my pillow now."

Tony nodded and let her go saying, "JARVIS can call Pepper and ask her to come up."

Clint saw the girl hesitate before nodding. She looked around the rest of the room before meeting his gaze, giving him a considering look and saying, "Night gents." grabbing her mug and walking into the lift. Shit. so not only had he apparently risked the life of the daughter of one of his teammates, she also appeared to know that that was the case. Well that was just dandy.

Fury grumbled before striding towards the elevators, saying over his shoulder to Tony. "I'll still need her to sign some papers."

"Go to hell, Nick." came the cheerful reply.

Bruce looked carefully at his friend as the leather-swathed director disappeared. "You seem remarkably okay with this now."

Tony shrugged, before going into the kitchen and pulling out scotch and a glass. "Pink is not your colour Brucie. She's doing better than I've seen her in a while. She's pissed just now - no thanks to you capsicle - she'll rant at Pepper about it. Maybe they'll go out and she'll get a new tattoo or piercing or maybe get her hair dyed and by tomorrow she'll be in a much better mood to meet you all."

That didn't seem to comfort Steve who half-staggared to the counter and sat down in a bar stool his eyes wide with shock. "She'll mutilate herself to make herself feel better?"

Tony pegged him with a level stare over the rim of his glass. "I don't know if you noticed but my daughter isn't doing to well just now. She was hurt, badly and it wasn't an accident. To accept what happened, she needs to change something so she can move on. If something big happens, like being threatened in her own home by the head of a secret agency, yeah, she might need something permanent. It's a coping method."

"What," Clint croaked, making his first move since the new discovery, "what happened to her?"

He was shocked and dismayed to see a wave of sadness breach Tony Stark's usual impenetrable mask. "That's her story to tell, Birdy. Maybe she'll even answer if you ask."

Natasha still hadn't said a word but Clint could feel her steady gaze on his back. Someone else who knew what he'd done then, someone else who didn't really approve. He sighed and excused himself. If the girl - Harriet - had worked out it was him, then her father wouldn't be far behind if she didn't just tell him herself. Maybe he should go to her in the morning. If she forgave him then Tony couldn't be angry, right?


	3. Chapter 3

The tower seemed to be holding it's breath the following morning. Bruce had spent most of the night with Tony in the labs because, despite what he said, Bruce knew the billionaire was desperately angry and frustrated. They had spent more time together than with the rest of the Avengers since they'd all moved in and Bruce could recognise Tony's moods quite well at this stage. The night had gone well though, Tony hadn't drank any more than usual and had allowed himself be directed to bed without too much of a fuss in the early hours.

All of the avengers were already in the common area, eating breakfast or watching tv but it was much quieter than usual - with no banter or food fights as was, sadly, the norm. Bruce was sitting at the breakfast bar and was the first to notice Harriet Stark step out of the elevator and walk into the kitchen to rake through the cupboards. He decided thanks were in order now in case the situation got too tense for him later - he had seen the marks on her yesterday and if the others meant to question her on them, it could get ugly fast knowing the Stark temper. "Umm, Miss?" he stuttered a little, unsure about how to address her.

She turned around from where she'd been peering into the fridge and said with a smile, "Call me Harry."

Bruce was taken aback by the familiarity in that smile, he still wasn't used to people being comfortable around him. Not only that but her smile was the same as Tony's on the few occasions he'd seen the billionaire unguarded enough to allow such a sweet expression on his face. "Um. Right. Harry," He blushed and continued trying to pretend he wasn't flustered, "I wanted to thank you for the dressing gown last night."

"Oh!" She seemed genuinely surprised he would need to thank her for that, "It's no problem Dr. Banner."

"Please, call me Bruce." She smiled and was about to reply when Tony walked over.

"So kid, what's the damage?" He asked with a soft smirk on his face.

She sighed before replying, "Two piercings and no money."

"No money?" the billionaire asked, confused. Bruce was fascinated by the dynamic between the Father and Daughter. He knew Tony hadn't had the happiest childhood which may have contributed to the way this relationship seemed like a pair of best friends instead of parent/child. "What-? You let Katie do it didn't you?" He sounded resigned.

"She's in the city, she doesn't charge friends and it was a good excuse to see her I don't understand the problem."

"Kid," Tony started and Harry shot him a look, "I'm just saying, she isn't the most responsible person we know."

He got an incredulous look from her at that and replied in a sarcastic tone, "And yet we remain best friends. I wonder how I cope."

The rest of the team wandered over to take seats around the breakfast bar, most of them looking at Harry who was about to pour cereal into a bowl. Clearly sensing the eyes on her, she looked up, blinked at the attention before sighing and putting the cereal away. Bruce had to stifle a snort of laughter when she came and sat down with a tub of ice cream and a spoon, looking around the table and saying, "Alright then, shoot."

Clint didn't manage to hold in his snigger at that and Bruce was sure he saw Natasha's lips twitch up slightly. Steve seemed to reluctantly take the lead in the conversation. "Last night you refused to sign silencing papers. Would you tell me why that was."

Bruce was surprised to see a vaguely guilty look pass across the girls face, apparently about the way she had spoken to Steve the night before. "It wasn-. I didn't mean-." She sighed and scrubbed her hand through her short brown hair angrily. "It was the principle of the thing, okay? Fury came and callously threatened me in my own home. I have a certain expectation for safety here - the tower has one of the most advanced security systems in the world powered by JARVIS - when that rug was pulled from under my feet I was angry and I lashed out."

Bruce remembered Tony saying the marks on her body weren't accidental and shuddered slightly, wondering how well anyone else he knew would cope in that situation. She had certainly come away better than anyone he could think of. Steve frowned at her answer, "But will you sign them now that you've calmed down?" Harry's eyes flashed at that question, "It's for your father's protection as well."

"She already has," Natasha chipped in, voice neutral as Tony and Harry both nodded. At Steve's enquiring look she added, "She did some work at Stark Industries when I was there."

"Secrecy's part of the contract." Tony informed them happily.

Steve nodded clearly not wanting to ask anymore. The tension around the little table increased as everyone clearly wanted to know about her injuries but no one wanted to have to ask. When no more questions were forthcoming Harry looked up from her ice cream again, looked at all the faces around her and burst into laughter. She turned to Tony, "You're cruel, dad, you know that?"

Tony blinked, "Generally but not in this particular case."

"So you didn't do anything like, i don't know, mention that i've been having a bad time of it while alluding to my scars and bandages and then refuse to tell them anymore, making them all curious but afraid of crossing a line."

"Well, yes." Tony said blinking again. "I think I did all of that."

She shook her head in amusement before saying, "Maybe save that gripping tale for another day? It's a bit too breakfast time for reminiscing."

"You're eating ice-cream." Bruce couldn't help but point out.

"Hey!" she replied mock - indignantly, gesturing at the doctor with her spoon, "it's strawberry flavoured so it's healthy and I was a student until not that long ago. Normal eating habits are going to take time. Now, anymore questions?"

"Yeah," It was Clint who spoke up. "Why the extreme secrecy? I mean, SHIELD didn't even know you existed."

"My sanity, I think. Right Pops?" At Tony's nod she continued. "You have to remember what bastards the media are. You also have to remember how many improvements Dad made when he became a kind of contractor for SHIELD. Their computer system was crappy before that making it childs play for JARVIS to slip into the system making sure there was not record of me. My last name has been Connelly throughout my schooling."

Bruce couldn't help but examining her while she sat talking. She was wearing denim shorts and a t-shirt which showed a significant amount of scarring on her body. The visible on the back of her neck, arms, and legs were clearly burns making it look like she'd been set on fire - that couldn't possibly be the case though, could it?. The front of her arms and legs were a motley of semi-healed cuts and fresh scars. He dreaded to think what her torso looked like.

While he'd been musing on her injuries she'd finished talking to Clint and was now listening to Tony musing about how to tell the world about her. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, mate" she said ruffling his hair and jumping down from the stool. He wasn't the only one who noticed her wince and steady herself on the table but before he could offer her help she was off away back towards the lift, Tony shaking his head in her wake.

"You know, one year she broke her foot while she was out with friends?" He said to the rest of them who were still seated at the table. "She went over her ankle in sling back heals resulting in a fracture of her cuboid bone. At the time, instead of going to the hospital she took off her shoes and walked home in bare feet. After waking up on her friends couch and discovering she couldn't walk she watched some of the tennis on the telly before she called a cab and went to hospital."

"That sounds like something you would do, my friend," Thor said. The Asgardian had been rather quiet about the new developments in the team but his expression was considering, almost calculating. Bruce spared a moment to worry about what the Asgardian was up to before he caught sight of the two assassins apparently having a conversation with just their eyes, resulting in Clint throwing his hands up and leaving the room. Bruce shook his head slowly and decided it would be safest just to head to the lab, where things made sense, where there weren't surprise children and more-sneaky-than-usual-team-mates. Yeah, Bruce would head back to the lab and try to get work done around his current preoccupation of Iron Man's surprisingly sweet smile. Yeah right.


	4. Chapter 4

Natasha was beginning to like Tony Stark's daughter. Now, from anyone else that would not be an unusual proclamation, liking someone is meant to be easy after all. For Natasha, however, it was a very strange concept. To like someone you had to have at least a small amount of trust for them and trusting people after meeting them properly only twice is dangerous in Natasha's world. She isn't even sure if she likes Tony yet.

When she had first seen Harry - though she didn't know who it was at the time - she had been working in Stark Industries under the name Natalie Rushman and Harry had only been referred to as Miss Connelly. Since observation was Natasha's job she was surprised that she hadn't noticed the similarities with the girl and Tony himself, all she'd seen was an engineer in overalls who was on surprisingly good terms with Pepper Potts.

Overlooking that lapse in her skills, the next time she'd seen the girl she was sassing the gun-wielding director of an intelligence agency. That was when she started to respect her. It was obvious to Natasha that the girl had been terrified, even under a hideous pink dressing gown her shoulders were hunched and her foot was tapping the floor nervously. Despite that she held her head high and spoke with confidence.

Natasha couldn't stand up to her boss as she was technically still a SHIELD agent even though she was indefinitely assigned to the Avengers Initiative. Even so, she watched the conflict unfolding between Tony and the Director and didn't step in on her bosses side either. She turned back towards the girl when she made a movement towards the rest of the group, tensing slightly and watching the girl roll her eyes in response as she handed the monstrosity of a dressing gown to Bruce who was desperately trying to hold on to his pants. Natasha was surprised to see the scars covering her body under her pyjamas, though she didn't let the expression show on her face, whoever she was expecting the girl to be, it wasn't until that moment that she contemplated the possibility that the girl was related to Tony. It should have been obvious she guessed, Tony was the only person she'd seen sass the director quite like that and when she was looking for it, she could see the similarities in their looks.

When she was introduced as Stark's daughter she felt the surprise in Clint's form and glancing at him she saw his thumb rubbing the grip of his bow the way he did when he felt guilty. Well at least she knew who had told the agency. Watching Tony and Harriet play the director was impressively funny and she thought that Steve deserved the acid the girl directed at him when he tried to step in. She was surprised Steve had tried to calm the situation - though he was the leader of their group and wouldn't want friction, Natasha knew enough of his history to know that he hated bullies which is exactly what the Director was being.

The final act that made Natasha sure she liked the girl was her cheerful goodbye to the team coupled with the measuring look she directed at Clint. So she knew who had given her up and wasn't scared enough of the assassin to let him know it. The girl had balls. Yeah, she definitely liked her.

That's why the next morning after the impromptu interview of Harry in the kitchen, Natasha conveyed to Clint the need for him to apologise. He, as usual, walked off in a huff without giving his agreement but she knew he would listen to her sooner or later. After that she returned to her room and considered the conundrum that the girl posed. Thinking for a moment she called, "JARVIS?"

"Yes Agent Romanov?" the butler replied in his cool British accent.

"Could you tell me what happened to Miss Stark?" Natasha made sure it was clear that she was genuinely asking the question and not trying to force information or invade.

The AI actually hesitated before saying, "... No, however I do not believe she would be opposed to telling you herself should you visit her."

Natasha was a little confused at JARVIS taking it upon himself to tell her that but muttered a quick 'thank you' before making the decision to go and see what she could find out. Knocking on Harry's door she heard a distracted 'Come in' and, upon entering saw Tony Stark's daughter wearing a day dress and heals, make up and safety glasses whilst leaning over a desk wielding a soldering iron.

When the girl looked up she quirked an eyebrow at the agent who returned the gesture pointedly. At that the girl laughed and muttered, "Yeah I'm definitely the weird one." Putting down her equipment she walked over to a couple of couches and gestured for the other woman to sit. "How can I help you, Agent?"

"Please," said Agent replied, "Call me Natasha." Seeing the girl incline her head she continued, "I am curious about the events that lead to the current condition of your body. And possibly why you were soldering in your bedroom rather than a workshop."

Natasha was quite taken aback at the girls easy smile as she replied, "Well for the latter, I currently have metal staples in my abdomen and it's simply not as safe as it could be for me working in the 'shop, with electricity and magnets and such. Especially sharing a workshop with my dad." She paused for a moment and gave the assassin a considering look. "I won't tell you what happened to me but, since you asked nicely, I can give you the file from the police report if you would like."

Natasha inclined her head and watched Harry put in a set of passwords into a SI Tablet and hand it over to Natasha before going back to her desk to continue her circuit. Natasha read. Harry's statement, the perpetrators statement, the statement from the dog-walker that found her, the police report and the medical report from both Scotland and the US. It was grim reading and she suspected that there was some information missing from Harry's statement but she was definitely impressed at the girls resilience.

Leaving the tablet on the couch she walked over to the desk taking in the visible injuries once more, wincing internally as she put together the scars with the actions that caused them. Harry looked up and kept a neutral look on her face as she appeared to search Natasha's expression. If Natasha was correct she was looking for signs of pity and relaxed when she didn't see them. Natasha thanked her and left still thinking carefully about the girl.

She liked her, that was already clear. She respected her more based on her experiences. She was sure Clint would apologise at some point, he would just have to brood for a little while first, that was how he always worked. Natasha was a woman of few friends and, as such was incredibly protective of the few she had. Thinking about Harry she knew that they had a chance of being very good friends and she wouldn't let SHIELD damage the girl more for their unending paranoia. No, she would have to pay Fury and Coulson a visit.

Thor sat in his room and thought carefully. He had seen the similarities between the Man of Iron in whose tower he lived and his own trickster brother. He saw the father issues, the inferiority complexes - never being good enough for their own standards, he saw the armour they both erected around their emotions and the words they wielded as weapons to stop themselves from being hurt and, most importantly, he saw how Tony Stark's mental armour fell away when with his daughter. When in her presence his brother avenger was more relaxed, happier, more free and wondered how that reaction could be brought about in his brother. Loki already had children and, though he couldn't see them as often as he wanted, he knew his brother didn't have the same reaction around them, too much time had passed, too much had happened in his life on Asgard.

Perhaps it was the just the girl? Could Harriet provoke that reaction in anyone? No, she certainly didn't relax the Man of Anger or the Captain. But she did seem to have a positive effect on Bruce - putting him at ease in a way he hadn't seen anyone else manage with the angry and sad man. He needed to think about it. He needed to talk to his Jane, she would know what to do.


	5. Chapter 5

Clint had eventually got up the courage to drop in on Harry. As soon as he had done so he realised that 'dropping in' was probably not the most suitable way to do things as he watched the woman burn herself on a soldering iron, proclaiming, "Holy gods! Use the vents as your own personal highway if you feel the need but at least knock before appearing!"

He cringed at the chastisement and wondered if that meant his chance at a good second impression was gone and if he'd have to start working on a third. "Sorry," he murmured contritely, earning a surprised look from Harry who was turning off the hot iron and tidying up her desk. "I wondered if we could talk."

She gave him a measuring look before smiling softly and saying, "Sure thing. I need coffee, let's go to that place across the street."

Surprised at her easy acceptance Clint took a moment to study her as he followed her out of her room to the lift and, noticing her outfit for the first time, wondered if she had been expecting him. Harry was wearing a seafoam green sundress, which brought out the green flecks in her grey-blue eyes, she had a bag slung over her shoulder which he presumed would have everything she could ever need in it and in her black, strappy stiletto heals she reached the height of his shoulder. He had already noticed that she was tall without the heals, 5'9 at least. It was always tall women he was attracted to.

He quickly shook that thought out of his head. He was most definitely not attracted to the leggy brunette with the easy smile who was Tony Starks daughter, at least 12 years his junior and who had recently been through a traumatic experience. Definitely not. To distract himself from his thoughts he asked why she was so dressed up today.

"Dad's holding a press conference tomorrow announcing my existence." She said with a fond smile. "He'll be agonising over the decision all day so if he's grumpy, that's why. Anyway, i'll need to get used to dressing nice again, walking in heels. I am Tony Stark's daughter after all."

Clint nodded in response and enjoyed the quiet on the way down in the lift. It was a comfortable silence and he was glad that she wasn't asking what he wanted, glad of the excuse to apologise to her away from Tony's loyal, all-hearing AI.

Speaking of, just before they walked out of the tower Harry said, "J! Don't tell Dad where i've gone until he remembers to ask and if we're back before that happens don't tell him I left at all."

"Of course, Miss Stark."

Once they'd found a seat in the coffee shop and were settled with coffee that Clint had insisting on paying for the woman turned to him and said, "So, what can I do for you, Agent?"

Clint had to choke back a laugh at the way her polite tone of voice contrasted with the measuring and vaguely accusatory look she was giving him. "Please, call me Clint."

She nodded, "First name terms it is then."

Well that still wasn't friendly but it was better. "I owe you an apology." He said hesitantly, ploughing on when she raised an eyebrow. "I was the one who informed SHIELD about your presence in the building."

Harry nodded slowly. "You're forgiven for your minimal offences against me, but you seem to be missing the point - misunderstanding why what you did was wrong."

Clint's relief at her forgiveness was short-lived and confusion swept through him.

"Look at the tower, " she said, gesturing out of the cafe's windows, "you've just referred to it as a building but for me it's a home. It is also my Father's home."

Clint's brow quirked. What difference did that make?

Harry sighed. "My father opened up his home to you, the one of the few places he feels genuinely safe, free and happy to be himself. He let you and the entire team live there without more than a thought and a few token complaints. He let you alter rooms and eat from his kitchen - i'm aware that none of you pay anything towards rent or food, he gives you an allowance straight into your bank account - he even lets you crawl around in the vents, spying on everyone because the ability to do that makes you more comfortable in your environment."

Clint swallowed and felt his stomach drop as he nodded once before staring down at his lap in dismay. It was really much worse than he'd anticipated. He hadn't fully realised how much Tony had done for them and now he'd broken the man's trust by threatening his daughter. Guilt started gnawing at his insides as he thought about how much he'd misjudged both man and girl.

"Hey," The bright voice brought him out of his brooding. "Chin up. He won't hold it against you and neither will I. The only person who owes me an apology is Fury and trust me, I will be much harder on him than Dad will be on you."

He smiled at that image remembering the scene from the night before. That would be a discussion that he would make his best attempts to eavesdrop on. "Thank you," he said, finally looking up at the smiling woman in front of him. "Thank you for ... explaining to me."

She shrugged a little and replied, "You would have worked out how much he did for you eventually, circumstances just conspired and here i am, walking proof that Tony has a heart."


	6. Chapter 6

Clint sat in the cafe for a while after Harry left, contemplating what she'd told him. He was unsurprised when Natasha joined him at the table. "Did you know the money wasn't from SHIELD?" He asked referring to the 'allowance' that Tony was providing for the team.

"No," was the quiet reply. "I wouldn't have taken it if I had known."

Clint snorted a laugh at that, "Apparently he would have just found another way. How did we miss this?"

Natasha shrugged a little helplessly, "There was no reason to look past the image he projected. I like Harry."

Clint's eyes snapped to hers when she said that and was almost surprised to see she was sincere. 'Tasha didn't like people easily and it had only been a couple of days since she'd met the mini-Stark. He considered for a moment before it clicked. "You know what happened to her."

"Yes."

No matter how curious he was Clint knew he couldn't ask but he was desperate to know both why Harry had decided to tell his partner about her past and exactly how that past had proved to Natasha that she was trustworthy. Natasha just raised an eyebrow and told him he had a billionaire to talk to.

Harry was broken. She knew she was, maybe it was inevitable after the incident. The most she could say that at least she was doing better than people seemed to expect of her and that she was slowly putting herself back together.

Observing the people she interacted with was helping her cope. For example, knowing Clint was a good guy and seeing him project his movements allowed her to steel herself for the gentle hand he placed on her shoulder on their walk over to the cafe, to block out the flashbacks and remind herself that it was over.

It was the unanticipated things that were really getting to her. When she was watching tv and there were flames on the screen, even so little as a candle, the flickering orange hues sent her straight back to the field and the feeling of struggling against her own body.

No matter what was still going on though, she was definitely improving. Knowing that she could trust the team, that she actually liked the team was a big help. Even meeting Director Fury was encouraging in it's own way - knowing how far the organisation would go to protect her father was comforting.

Maybe now Clint understood what a great guy Tony was, the rest of the team would finally understand how much he did for them and for SHIELD. That would definitely make her happy.

The fact that Bruce knew what was bothering Tony today, didn't make the mans foul mood any easier to deal with. He had heard Tony arrange the press conference to introduce his daughter to the world for the next day and he definitely understood why it was upsetting the other man but Bruce still didn't know how to help him.

The day had been spent in the labs, with Tony mainly tinkering on his suit, alternating between snapping at Bruce and looking like he was about to cry, all whilst mainlining caffeine.

Bruce sighed as another litany of swearwords could be heard across the lab. He hated seeing Tony this helpless. As much as finding out about Tony's daughter had been a shock, it was obvious how much the two looked out for each other and cared about each other.

Making his way across the lab, Bruce took a deep breath and stood behind and slightly to the side of the other man and tentatively placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. He was always wary about touching others, worried that he's forcing too much of his destructive presence on the other person so, even though he knew Tony was his friend, he's surprised when the other man rests his cheek on Bruce's hand.

"Come on, Tony," he says in a gentle voice. "Let's go upstairs and get some lunch, then we can talk to Harry about tomorrow, okay?"

He sees the relief and gratitude in the others eyes before he says quietly, "I don't want to burden her with more worries."

Bruce has to bite the inside of his lip to stop his smile when he realises that Tony is actually opening up to him - it's not really appropriate to smile at the moment - and he replies, "If you talk about it there won't be nearly as much to worry about."

Tony nods and flashes a small, genuine smile that makes Bruce's heart beat faster in his chest as they head towards the elevator. 'This is all I need,' he thinks to himself. 'Being his friend is enough.' He is well aware that he's lying to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry made her way to the kitchen when she got back into the tower, her stomach protesting the lack of proper breakfast she decided that cheese toasties would make everything better. Pausing in the doorway she watched the adorable Dr. Banner rest a hand on her Dad's shoulder as he put a plate of sandwiches on the table in front of him as well as the blush that crept up Bruce's neck when Dad patted his hand in thanks. 

Now that was interesting. Was there a science romance blossoming? Certainly on Bruce's side but her father tended to play his cards close to his chest when he liked someone. They would definitely make an adorable couple, she reflected as she made her presence known and started to make toasties. 

"Where have you been then, brat?" Tony demanded, before considering her for a moment and adding, "and what's with the outfit?" 

"Coffee," she said without turning round, waving her hand vaguely in the direction of the coffee shop. "And I had presumed that I should get used to wearing clothes that are a little more high market than my usual fair." She finally turned quirking her eyebrow at him. 

"Right," looking a little agonised he continued, "are you sure you can go through with this?" 

"Yup," she replied popping the 'p' before turning a little more serious. "No one touching me without me first indicating its okay and no flames anywhere. Even candles. Okay?"

She saw Bruce wince a little out of the corner of her eye and watched her Dad pat the fellow scientists arm comfortingly before replying, "you're working on that?"

Which she translated to, "are you getting better or shall I arrange psychiatric help?"  
Her reply was equally as encrypted. "Slow going." Which meant "I'm trying my hardest. Give me time and I'll let you know if the psychiatric help is necessary. "

"Really Dad. Tomorrow will be fine, you'll be there. I'll have the avengers behind me after all." 

"Not all of them apparently" Tony muttered enigmatically before stalking out of the room. 

She watched him leave with concern before turning to Bruce who was watching him leave with a confused expression before turning to her for an explanation. 

"If he means the Captain then there's nothing I can do the help." She said before hesitating. "If he means... Anyone else you can tell him its been dealt with."

Bruce's confused expression returned but he simply sighed and headed back down to the lab. 

...

From Bruce's point of view the conversation in the kitchen hadn't been nearly as reassuring for Tony as he'd hoped it would be. That comment about fire coupled with the marks on Harry's body had informed him that he wasn't mistaken; she really had been set on fire. He heard the Other Guy growl in his head at the thought of what she'd been through. Hell Bruce himself was restraining a growl when he wondered what had been done with the people who had done that to her. 

The other worry raised from that conversation was who in the team wouldn't stand behind her. He knew that Steve had made platitudes when Fury had been there but he had assumed that that was simply to prevent anymore arguments rather than any animosity towards the girl. 

Someone must have informed the agency about the girl though. Who would that have been? One of the spys presumably. But then what had, Harry meant that it had been 'dealt with'? He would just have to ask Tony.

...

The Black Widow walked through the corridors of SHIELD towards the directors office as always ignoring the other Agents and assorted staff that jumped out of her way. Some of those agents were more senior than her, and they wondered why she didn't make any attempt to respect them. 

The only people in the agency deserving her respect were Barton, Hill, Coulson and Fury. Her respect for the latter, however, was hanging by a thread and dependant on what action he took next. 

She walked into Fury's office, ignoring to the agent stationed outside his door's protest. Inside were Agents Hill and Coulson in a meeting with the director. That was excellent - it saved her from hunting the other two down later. 

"Can I help you Agent Romanov?" The directors single visible eye was glaring at her while the other two managed to convey surprise without changing their expressions. 

"It would make a change from helping yourself." Natasha replied pleasantly, leaning casually against the closed door. 

"I'm going to take this opportunity to remind you who you work for." His voice turning darker. 

"That would be appreciated. I've been a little confused since my last pay check had Pepper Potts' signature on it." The other two agents in the room were looking back and forth as though they were at a tennis match. 

"So your loyalty is attached to your pay check?"

Natasha felt anger then, for the first time since she'd entered the office. That was a grave insult for her especially with her past. "My loyalty," she spat, "as ever only belongs to my friends only. Anything else I do is because its the right thing to do. My work with SHIELD has been based on the fact that every mission I have been part of has been for the good of the country and the world. Threatening an unarmed, unprepared woman in her own home is not the organisation i joined."

Coulson interrupted looking vaguely guilty, "Natasha we..."

"No," Natasha said firmly, "passing on information to a superior agent is one thing but you are meant to be a liaison - that means you bridge the gap, not automatically assume the worst of one of the members of the group you liaise with. The director took that a step further by coming into Tony's home uninvited and pulling a gun on his daughter." 

No one said anything to that. Nothing that she said could be refuted - it was the ugly truth. Satisfied that she had made her point, Natasha turned to leave. 

Agent Hill spoke up. "How did Stark earn your respect then?" 

"He hasn't yet, though his obvious love for his daughter is a step in the right direction." She replied without turning. 

"The girl then." 

That made her turn and consider the other female agent but she could make out no negative emotions in her eyes, just curiosity. "I like her. " she responded simply. 

Agent Hill's eyebrows rose fractionally before she nodded her head and Natasha took that as her sign to leave. Well at least Harry would have the defence of the Directors protege if not the man himself. The meeting could have gone a lot worse. 

...

Thor couldn’t help but smile as he turned off the mobile device after a conversation with his dear Jane. She cautioned him not to get his hopes up about Loki but promised they could discuss it in person because she was coming to New York the next day! It was hard not to be happy when he would see her again so soon even if there was only disappointment in store for him regarding his brother.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a very long time since I've written (sorry about that) so this is just a short chapter to get me back into the flow of it.

Steve Rogers was frustrated. For that reason, he was down in the gym again - beating the stuffing out of the punching bags that stark had brought in for him wasn't as helpful at venting his frustration as usual. 

Things with the team had been better since the "Battle of New York" but they still didn't trust each other. Oh, they definitely trusted each other with their lives and certainly fought well together but their secrets were another matter. It was fair enough really - more than fair, past loyalties, actions and emotions had no bearing on this team and everybody deserved to have secrets. But Stark - Tony, he reminded himself with a grimace now that there were two of them - had kept a civilian in the tower.

Again he understood the urge to keep quiet about his daughter, especially after she had evidently been through quite an ordeal, but most of the villainous activity was centred on the tower because most villains wanted to attack the avengers and know fine well that this is where they live. Tony should have let him know that there was a civilian around so he could alter their plans to reflect that fact and keep her safe.

Steve sighed and stopped the bag, resting his forehead against it as he caught his breath. As much as Tony should have told him, he knew that he was frustrated with himself more than anything else. He shouldn't have taken Fury's side in the penthouse. He was aware of that even as he was speaking. It may be a leftover from the time period he actually grew up in but he was aware that he put too much stock in authority figures. SHIELD had already proven to be less than reliable (sending a neuk to New York City, for example) and Steve found himself constantly dithering between following SHIELD blindly and taking more time to consider the appropriate actions. 

Thee was nothing else for it. He would need to apologise to Tony.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like the story! Let me know what you think if you have the time.


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